Melbourne, Australia, had a first wave. Then it had a second wave. Then it decided it was done with Covid-19.

In an end-of-year plot twist, Congress is working on a fresh bipartisan stimulus bill.

Millions of women left the workforce as Covid-19 forced school closures, but that doesn’t mean they have less on their plates. Is government-funded child care the answer?

The Supreme Court ruled that New York State can’t limit how many people gather in church, even during a pandemic. Vox’s Ian Millhiser explains why this is one of the most significant religious liberty cases in the last 30 years.

Low-income students are dropping out of college because many don’t have a reliable way to get online. Vox’s Emily Stewart says the solution is simple: Give everybody the internet.

President-elect Biden has started announcing his Cabinet nominees, but Matthew Yglesias says the most important positions aren’t the ones you’d think.

Covid-19 vaccines are coming out faster than many thought possible. But distributing the vaccines could be an even tougher challenge.

Scientists all over the world are searching for dark matter: an invisible, untouchable substance that holds our universe together. But they haven’t found it. Are they chasing a ghost?

With two months left in the Trump presidency, the US is reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan in an attempt to end America's longest war. But Biden will still inherit the conflict.

Retail was struggling. Then came the virus. Recode’s Jason Del Rey explains how the American mall will never be the same, and how the machines might save retail.

An ethnic conflict in Ethiopia has thrown the Horn of Africa into disarray and could upset order on the continent.

Covid-19 is surging across the United States, just in time for cold weather and major holidays. North Dakota is doing particularly badly. Vermont may offer hope.

Oregon decriminalized all drugs. Red states and blue states are doing the same with weed. It’s the culmination of a failed drug war.

A weekend of protests, violence, and enmity in DC revealed what Donald Trump has planned post-presidency.

Covid-19 is surging (again). Schools are closing (again). Kids are learning online (again). And more American parents than ever are turning to homeschool (for the very first time).

California tried to strengthen labor rights for gig workers. Uber, Lyft, and their food-delivering cohorts responded with a $200 million propaganda offensive

After a fraught Election Week, cable news is finally cutting away from President Trump’s falsehoods.

The 45th president of the United States has thus far refused to acknowledge the 46th.

And some big vaccine news, too.

And Kamala Harris, too.

Vox’s Ella Nilsen explains why Democrats are waving goodbye to the blue wave.

Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains the latest election math, and Ezra Klein argues that, despite record-setting turnout, it wasn’t a great night for American democracy.

This Election Day, voter turnout is projected to break records in the United States, but it won’t get anywhere close to Australia’s. Professor Lisa Hill explains what happens when you make voting mandatory.

Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains how Joe Biden — or President Trump — could win 270 electoral votes.

In the final episode of our five-part series, New York Magazine’s Rebecca Traister and Vox’s Ezra Klein explain how four years of the Trump presidency have changed the American people and their politics.